The other day during the interview with Jeff Kerkove I started to think/ remember about things concerning the choice between cross country racing and endurance racing. I thought I'd share those things today.
The first thing that Jeff mentioned and that I agreed with was the price versus value issue. You know........you drive for hours, spend $35.00 to register, line up to rage for maybe an hour- hour and a half, and go home. Wha......? It's over before you get warmed up! Then you get to drive back home, and clean your bike for an hour- hour and a half. Hmm.................that's a problem! I'm not even going to get into the course designs, or other details, because.......well, the other stuff is more than enough to turn me off, and apparently it did that to Jeff as well.
The other thing you may not figure out until you actually do an endurance event. It's the personal satisfaction factor. In the cross country race scene, you are either a winner, or everybody else. In an endurance event, your competition is you! How much pain can you overcome? How can you figure out how to overcome your circumstances? Can you do 18 laps? Can you make it to the next aid station? Can you navigate your way through that forest? The really cool thing is, if you do that thing, whatever it is, you have won! You beat whatever obstacle was thrown your way, you went further than even you thought was possible. You could be dead last in the field of participants, but you still won. You beat the odds, the elements, and yourself.
Then you also have that bond with everyone else that finished, too. That look in the eyes that says, "Yep, I get it. We won!" It's something that I find way more fulfilling than coming in mid-pack in the Sport Class. Not that there is anything wrong with that!
It's just not for me!
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